MMCLX-MXVII
MMCLX-MXVII, better known as Nada, is a Culexus Temple Assassin assigned to the Ragged Edges. History Born with the Pariah Gene, Nada had an early life unfortunately typical of carriers. She was found on a cargo shuttle in Cadia, having been abandoned, and quickly shunted to an orphanarium. Several years later, she was sent to the Kell's Pride Boarding School, where she found herself ostracized by most of the student body. At a pivotal moment, a riot broke out against her, at which she was rescued by a young Zune Lockwood. Lockwood escorted the young Pariah to safety, which led to her being discovered as a carrier of the gene and being collected by the Officio Assassinorum. Upon this, the organization enacted the procedures necessary to turn the girl into a Culexus Temple Assassin. Nada had a largely successful career as an Assassin, developing a special fondness for Eldar and Dark Eldar opponents. Eventually, when the Ragged Edges unit was formed, Nada found herself added as a specialist. In spite of her status as a Pariah gene carrier, Nada quickly struck up an odd friendship with the more powerful of the crew's psykers, Cuddles. She would go on to participate in many of its efforts, including the Trydusian V Incident. Personality Nada's transformation into a Culexus Temple Assassin badly addled her brains, including its language center. As a result, she is highly idiosyncratic, and possesses a number of unusual habits. Nada is exceptionally friendly and kindly, but rarely expresses it in any kind of normal way. She enjoys physical contact (though few others will consent to it), and often responds to basic acts of kindness or politeness in unusually intimate fashion. Examples include long handshakes or hugs, face-touching, playing with hair, or entering personal space. Nada has a difficult time sitting still, and requires things to occupy her brain - which, as a superhumanly dextrous person trained in lockpicking and stealth, can often end in unusual things. Because of this, the crew is known to give her "hobbies", such as teaching her an instrument or whittling, merely to keep her from finding a hobby of her own. Perhaps her most infamous habit is her tendency towards nicknames. Due to the scrambling effects of her transformation, she seems almost incapable of referring to people by their original names, favoring nicknames that tend towards the unusual or obscure. This makes speaking with Nada highly disconcerting. Nada's skills are fairly standard for a Culexus Temple Assassin, which is still highly abnormal - superhuman strength, speed, and dexterity, a field that deadens Warp and psyker activity, and equipment that allows her to drain psychic energy and project it as powerful blasts. In the field, many of her idiosyncrasies drop, and she becomes hyperfocused on completing the mission. Relationships Cuddles Nada's closest friend among the Edges is the psyker Jonquil Lancaster, whom she refers to as "Lanky." The two are often remarked upon for their unusual nature, as a psyker and a blank would be considered natural enemies, with the mere presence of the latter creating an existential dread in the former. Fortunately for them both, Cuddles's unusual attitude towards fear causes her to prize her time with Nada, due to the surge of emotions it brings out in her, and her high level of power means that she can withstand Nada's aura for some time. Nada, for her part, enjoys the presence of what she perceives as food, with Cuddles's psychic energy providing a veritable banquet. Their shared isolation also encourages them to stick together. Due to Cuddles's lack of a usable mouth and Nada's immunity to telepathy, the two of them communicate through sign language. On missions, they are known to work as a unit, thanks to Nada's own abilities being able to leech off Cuddles's. Despite their closeness, much of Nada remains a mystery to Lancaster, due to Nada being a poor explainer and not knowing much about herself. She largely does not care, as she believes "studying" Nada would cheapen their bond. Zune Lockwood Though Cuddles is Nada's closest friend, she considers Zune to be her first friend. Neither one properly remembers their first meeting - Zune due to the distance of time and a life of heavy drinking, Nada due to severe brain damage - but Nada still understands deeply that Zune did something for her that can never be truly repaid. Zune is likely the only person whom Nada has ever truly loved, though she has never properly explained or confessed these feelings due to understanding that Zune could never reciprocate on multiple different levels. As a result, Nada's attitude towards Zune mostly manifests in an unusual fondness. Zune is the only person Nada refers to by their true name, and Nada often attempts to help Zune out in ways that the latter finds inexplicable. Zune makes an effort to be somewhat friendly with Nada, by the nature of her position, but overall has no association at all of the unfortunate schoolkid she met years ago and the terrifying monster today. Conrad Raege Conrad possesses a low degree of psychic resistance herself, though nowhere near on the level of a Pariah. Because of this, she finds Nada less unnerving than most, and even welcomes her presence, due to her wariness of psykers. She makes an effort to treat Nada with a degree of respect, giving her a room and even coming by to talk on occasion. Nada refers to "ten-to-five" as "crisp and juicy", and considers her one of her closer friends. Alice Boone Unlike Cuddles, who can withstand the power of a Null, Boone is far too weak to do so. Because of this, she treats Nada with the absolute dread typical of a psyker and a pariah, incapable of even being around the latter without heavy sedatives. Conrad makes a notable effort to steer the two apart whenever possible. Nada, on the other hand, is fairly affectionate towards "the lost little lambda," treating her with a reasonable amount of closeness and intimacy on the rare occasions when they are together - something which serves as small consolation to Boone.